Pharmaleads has pioneered our understanding of how the body manages enkephalins, a class of peptides produced by the body to relieve pain.
- Enkephalins are small peptides naturally secreted by the body
- Enkephalins specifically bind to pain related opioid receptors to naturally modulate/interrupt pain signals locally
Pr. Roques, a co-founder of Pharmaleads and a well-recognised leader in the understanding of the role of enkephalins in relation to local pain relief, discovered that enkephalins, once released, are naturally degraded by two enzymes, called enkephalinases: APN (aminopeptidase N) and NEP (neprilysin).
Pharmaleads research has shown that inhibiting both enkephalin-degrading enzymes APN and NEP increases the local concentration of enkephalins in areas of the body where pain was initiated and propagated and as a result relieves the patient’s pain locally without any of the side effects associated with opiates.
